Nickelodeon Buys Rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

10.22.09 by BJSprecher

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According to Deadline Hollywood, Viacom's Nickelodean purchased the global intellectual property rights and merchandising rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) in a deal estimated at $60 million. Nickelodean plans to develop a new CG-animated TV series starring the Turtles and release a new feature film of their exploits in 2012.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book was originally self-published in 1984 by creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a parody of popular comic books of the time, including Frank Miller's Ronin and Marvel Comics' Daredevil. The comic book spawned a tremendously popular cartoon series, multiple video games, countless toys, three live-action movies, and the 2007 Imagi Animation Studios' CG-animated movie, simply titled TMNT.

Nickelodean plans to maintain a relationship with Playmates Toyes, Inc., the company that first manufactured and marketed Turtles toys and is responsible for much of the franchise's success throughout the years.